Road rage Flintshire man was under the influence of drugs

A DRUG-DRIVER followed another vehicle around Mold for about half an hour in an extended road rage incident.

The victim tried to get away on a number of occasions and even attempted to hide up a country lane at one point.

But in the end he drove to Mold Police Station to get help because of the "very angry and intimidating" driver who followed very close behind, shunted him and who tried to stop him on a number of occasions.

Christopher John Harris, 35, denied a public order offence following the incident on the late afternoon of October 1 but he was convicted after trial at North East Wales Magistrates Court.

Harris, of Bryn Eglwys, Flint Mountain, who had earlier admitted that he had 557 microgrammes of Benzoylecgonine – a metabolite of cocaine – in his blood, compared to the legal limit of 50, was bailed pending sentence on Monday.

He denied using threatening, abusive, insulting words or behaviour with intent to cause Jonathan David Lowery harassment, alarm or distress but was convicted.

Mr Lowery, who was driving his works Welsh Water van as he made his way home through Mold from Wrexham Road, said Harris tailgated him, flashed his lights and sounded his horn, gesticulated at him and tried to force him to stop on a number of occasions.

There had been no reason for it, he told the Mold court.

As he drove on Denbigh Road Harris cut him up and forced him to stop so Mr Lowery said that he did a three point turn and returned to Mold, which he did not know very well.

At one stage, he went up a lane to a private home near the Wylfa roundabout hoping to get away but the defendant drove towards him in his black Seat, part of which was caught on CCTV from the home.

Mr Lowery said he then drove through the town centre to the police station but took wrong turnings.

In the High Street Harris got out and was banging on his van. He said the car behind had shunted the van too.

"He was being very angry. I thought if I did stop, I would be in danger," he said.

The victim said he had contacted his manager and staff had been in touch with the police who advised him to drive to the police station.

However, in the police station car park Harris banged on the bonnet, was shouting aggressively and tried to break his wing mirror which caused him to clip a parked car as he reversed to try and get away, said barrister Gemma Gordon, prosecuting.

Police officers came running out of the station.

Harris represented himself but solicitor Gary Harvey was appointed by the court to cross-examine Mr Lowery who denied that there had been any incident on the roundabout.

Mr Harvey put it to him that Harris was not being aggressive at all.

Mr Lowery said he was and he told several times how he found him "very intimidating".

He had simply been trying to get away and was very concerned that the defendant was following him for so long.

Mr Lowery denied Harris' allegations that he had cut the defendant up on the Wylfa roundabout and forced him onto the pavement.

That was not true. It simply did not happen, he said.

He said that he had no intention of stopping for a man who was clearly very angry and intimidating and who followed him for so long.

In evidence, Harris said that he had been forced or sliced off the road because the van was in the wrong lane as it took the Mold exit off the Wylfa roundabout.

He said his only intention was to get the other man's details and and apology.

Harris said he was not being intimidating and claimed the other driver must have seen a skin head who went to the gym and concluded that he would be intimidating.

He said he had children and would not set such an example to them.

In the police station he banged on the bonnet when he alleged the van drove at him - which Mr Lowery denied - and said that the shouting that was heard from the police station was him shouting for help. He had not touched the wing mirror, he claimed.

Harris said he had been glad when the police said they would seize his dash cam and said that would show precisely what had happened.

But magistrates were told that the camera contained no footage of the incident.

There was no CCTV footage of the incident outside the police station and the council CCTV camera in the bus station appeared to have been obstructed by trees.

Morris said he was shocked there was no footage, which he described as "convenient".

He said the dash cam footage would have been crucial to his defence. It was always on and it had never let him down before, he said.

Asked why he had followed the van for between 20 minutes and half an hour, Harris said that it did not seem that long.

He thought at the time it was only two minutes but accepted that it had been longer.

His only intention was to get the driver details. "If I wanted to do something I would have - but I didn't," he said.

Miss Gordon put it to him that he had no need to stop the other van if he believed it was all captured on the dash cam and said he could simply have noted the registration number if he had any concerns.

But Harris said that he wanted the details of the driver and in any event he was dyslexic and would not be able to take the registration number down accurately.

Magistrates said Mr Lowery had been a credible witnesses who genuinely felt intimidated by the defendant who followed him so closely for such a long period of time.

They did not accept that Harris was simply trying to get driver details and said his actions had been aggressive.

Harris was bailed for a pre-sentence report from the probation service.

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